(1) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera-fitted information retrieval device for retrieving information related to facilities and places by using an image photographed with a camera.
(2) Description of Related Arts
Conventionally, when the user acquires his or her desired information, he or she performs information retrieval by using a personal computer or the like. In this case, to specify the desired information, a keyword is used. Even in portable information devices, such as portable phones, such retrieval is possible. Thus, for example, to acquire information of a tourist site, such as a temple, in a tourist place during a trip or the like, retrieval is performed with the name of the tourist site concerned being used as a keyword.
On the other hand, a technique has also been suggested which permits a portable information device such as a portable phone to acquire necessary information by using information on an image (camera image) photographed with a camera provided in this device and transmitting this camera image to a server.
As one example of this, from a portable phone terminal to a server, image data of a product photographed with this portable phone terminal and position information representing the current position of this portable phone terminal are transmitted, the server analyzes this image data to obtain feature information of the product, retrieves product information based on this feature information to specify the product, retrieves detailed information of this product and also retrieves, from among agencies dealing with this product, the one closest to the current position of the portable phone terminal, and then provides the detailed information of this product and map information such as a location of the agency to the portable phone terminal (for example, see Publication of Japanese unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-122757).
As another example, a technique has been suggested by which a service server receives and stores an image photographed with a camera of a portable phone and place information from a GPS representing the current position of this portable phone, and, upon request for this image from a user belonging to the same group as the user possessing this portable phone, provides this image and the place information to the user belonging to the same group after confirmation that he or she belongs to the same group. (Publication of Japanese unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-122757, Publication of Japanese unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-320464)
However, the aforementioned technique described in Publication of Japanese unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-122757, by using the image of the product photographed with the camera of the portable phone terminal, provides services of introducing the detailed information of this project and the agency dealing with this product, but does not provide detailed information of places, facilities, etc. For example, when walking around a local unfamiliar region during a trip or the like, the user in some cases desires to immediately know detailed information, such as a historic site or a store desired for dining, based on the current position. However, the portable terminal described in Publication of Japanese unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-122757, even if it can treat a historic site or the like in the same manner as the product, cannot acquire detailed information of an object unless it directly photographs the object, and thus cannot function for an object that cannot be recognized based on the current position.
Moreover, the aforementioned technique described in Publication of Japanese unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-320464 stores a photographed image in the server and provides it to another user, and thus cannot provide detailed information of a place photographed.